24

On the 19th, I had pretty close to 24 hours of happiness for my 24th birthday.  So eerie to have to claim that number -- in a year I'll be a quarter of a century and able to rent a car!  Imagine that.  Last year, my comparison was to Brant, being the age he had proposed and married me.  Funny stuff.

Being a Sunday, we needed more simplicity in celebration.  My parents drove up to be with us.  1-4 pm was church (hard for planning meals well).  The speakers were quite excellent, we had a sweet flute/piano duet, and in Young Women's I taught what ended up being a surprisingly birthday/mommy-daughter related lesson, "Attitudes About Our Divine Roles."  I was very happy to be remembered by my YW girls' enthusiastic birthday singing, and even more by my Beehive's sweet card.  I didn't know that others would know about my day.  There was a bit of a hold up after church released, as a screw apparently had shredded our back left tire (which was replaced yesterday).  Getting that fixed, we dashed home as well as one may in a mountain setting on a spare, and started on dinner, as we were expecting company.  So 7 o'clock, our good friends Gary and Shel and their four children joined us for glazed ham, funeral potatoes (rotten name for something so tasty), peas, and chocolate silk pie/cheesecake with fresh berries.  While the two youngest played with my almost-grown kittens, the rest of us played BANG!  Bang! is a murderous, Spaghetti Western crafted in Italy that we often play on game nights with this family and another couple, Noah and Cristina.  Mom had long been curious about the game play as she is crafting some educational materials concerning the west right now.  So we introduced it to them.  I died midway through the game (second to do so), by a combination of my parents' turns, which hilariously upset them upon this realization.  Not quite typical Sunday fare.  But, funnily enough, my sweet, pacifistic mother nearly won as the Renegade, had not Gary as the Deputy dispatched her after LONG last.  Lots of laughter had been what I wanted most for my birthday, and I got it fully.  I slept well and long that night.

Loot?  A filing cabinet, lots of delicious foods both nutritious or chocolate laden, lotions, a shirt, and a slinky sweater dress.  In addition was a generous gift from my parents in-law, and a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.  Ever since I discovered the existence of the latter, I have sworn that this is all I want for any future gifts.  While this is still true, I'm finding myself needing to reconsider a touch.  Yesterday I made use of it exactly to the penny to order five books on my lifelong wishlist.  I found great deals where they were each a penny... yes, which means I spent $19.95 in shipping.  Kinda deflating.  But I'm still happy with what will come in the mail.

Overall, I had a delightful birthday/holiday weekend full of family, fun, and love.  The stuff was nice, but it was the loving family who gave me my fill of laughter that made it what I longed for.